This G1 Universe Quake is better than I expected. When I heard a retool of Legacy Evolution Skullgrin [FOTD #2,597] was coming as Quake, I was preemptively not interested. But I got the other two figures in the wave, so I had to go for this one too. A lot of fans say that the Titans Return Decepticon Quake [FOTD #1,734] is better. I like some of the deco of that Headmaster riff more, but it's a Hardhead redeco and this weird tank mode with two gun buddies is a bit closer to the spirit of the original toy. They're different enough that I am presently inclined to hang on to both despite having zero affinity to the G1 toy or character.
A knee-jerk fan reaction to a number of toys is "who asked for this?" and I'd be one of them. In an era of tightening budgets, Hasbro has somehow gone out of its way to spend more money on Transformers - this figure is a pretty extensive rework of Skullgrin, and that's not free. I'm surprised they didn't just take another character and redecorate it. Hasbro could have just re-released Breakdown or Cliffjumper with no changes and likely have had a stronger seller. Instead, the new take on Quake should delight fans who missed the one from roughly seven years ago, and confuse everybody else. Quake is not a big part of the Decepticon cause, and you likely would not miss him were he left unreleased. It's a pretty striking robot mode with saturated colors and a bright yellow face.
He's not very big, and his two gun friends are super simple. The purple one's barrel fell off when I transformed it the first time, likely due to the paint being just a bit too thick for the joint to work properly. It's pretty good paint overall, evenly applied - but nothing could be better than molding it in the right color. (Or the wrong color.) I'm kind of surprised he got two toys and a lot of his peers had one, or zero. And I'm sure Hosehead wants to exist. We're still waiting on Nightbeat as a full Headmaster... but I digress. Quake is light on paint - the stickers weren't really replicated - btu hasbro did a nice job making the robot mode better and modernizing the head pretty well. I don't have the original, but I think I'd rather have this 2024 toy. Maybe with a bit more paint - but the joints are pretty good and it's fun to pose.
Transformation is easy. I didn't use the instructions and while cramming the legs into the treads took a little doing, it was not a massive challenge. I prefer it this way, I don't like to squint at the instruction sheets.
The tank mode is fun to muck with. While there are no working wheels, the Hasbro people did work in some play features. The gray turret barely swivels, and is removable. You can replace it with one of the two gun buddies if you want, and that's a nice play feature. No kid will probably see or receive this, so that's just something for you to enjoy which may remind you of the original 1988 toy.
A full rotating turret and wheels would be nice, but that's not what this toy is. Changing a Cybertronic vehicle to a weird - but recognizable - Earth tank is a level of creativity worth applauding, even if it's not one's top choice.
The secondary market price of the Titans Return Quake are fairly low as I write this in December, so all things being equal, I would give the edge to the guy with two robot blaster pals. The lightning bolt deco on the other versions is cooler (and missed) but I'm impressed with what they did with the Skullgrin mold. It's pretty good, but even greatness may not nudge you to buy of a character whose level of recognition can best be summed up as "...who?" If you got $25 to burn and already bought G1 Universe Optimus Prime [FOTD #2,786] and Cyberverse Universe Slipstream [FOTD #2,795], this stooge isn't a bad addition to your shopping cart if you're Quake-less and dig Targetmaster toys. It's also the first Quake with a tank mode since the 1980s and that's not without value.
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